Immunotherapy vs. Ewing Sarcoma: LET’S GO!

(L to R) Pete Anderson, MD, PhD, Piero Spada, Lucy (Chief Inspiration Officer), Maggie Spada, Tim Chan, MD, PhD

The focus of the Little Warrior Foundation is advancing therapies that target Ewing Sarcoma. We have some exciting news that involves a therapy in the pipeline, an ambitious immunotherapy approach that now seems well within reach due to the expansive use of the mRNA vaccines. (COVID’s silver lining?) 

This month, we granted $200,000 to the Cleveland Clinic for a therapy being pioneered by Timothy Chan, MD, PhD, Chair of the Cleveland Clinic Center for Immunotherapy and Precision Oncology.  Dr. Chan’s lab will continue developing therapies that amplify T-cell mediated death for certain cancers, with special focus on Ewing Sarcoma. Dr. Chan has preliminary data that show that sarcomas like Ewings, harbor excellent immunogenic neoantigen targets. Killer T-cells may just need an extra boost to carry out their primary function - to recognize and kill foreign cancer cells.

This extra boost will come in two forms: The first will involve the development of Ewing Sarcoma mRNA vaccine that is personalized to each patient’s genotype (as characterized by whole exome sequencing).  This mRNA vaccine will amplify the fusion remnant’s signal, so that it can better be recognized as foreign by killer T-cells (CD8+). 

While exciting, the experts believe that a vaccine alone may not be enough to overcome this cancer. A second boost will come in a combination therapy which will assist in overcoming the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME).

If this preclinical work is successful, the aim is to go from bench-to-bedside within 2 years, admittedly an aggressive timetable but one that gives us much hope. A phase 1 clinical trial of this immunotherapy would then be carried out in a basket trial for approximately 6-8 patients in a relapsed scenario, targeting Ewing Sarcoma.

This immunotherapy could dovetail with current modalities of treatment (chemotherapy, surgery and/or radiation) and potentially be given at the tail-end of treatment as final therapy to help train the body to recognize EwS cells as foreign.

One exceptional quality of Tim Chan, MD, PhD, and Pete Anderson, MD, PhD (Pediatric oncologist & sarcoma expert) and the Cleveland Clinic (as a whole) is their willingness to collaborate. They’ve taken every proactive lead we’ve discussed, from potential vaccine industry partners to other like-minded oncologists, and chased it down. We could not be more grateful for their partnership and we are hopeful, for everybody’s kids, that this proves to be a much needed breakthrough.

Nobody fights alone, not even at the foundation level. Our friends at the Rutledge Cancer Foundation in Texas share our passion & urgency for better treatment options, and are co-funding this initiative with us.  We remain ever hopeful that Cleveland Clinic can work judiciously & efficiently to make this immunotherapy approach a reality for those kids that need better treatment options.

Swords Up!